RWBY: Between The Anvil and The Shield
by DarthKirby009
Summary: As Qrow, Oscar/Ozpin, and Team RNJR prepare go after the Spring maiden, Ruby and the crew spend time training and get new weapon upgrades from a handsome blacksmith named William Hillphire. What follows is a light hearted yet serious relationship triangle between Ruby, Jaune, and Hillphire that threatens to pull team RNJR apart without them even knowing it. Prequel to Silver Maiden
1. Chapter 1

**Between The Anvil and The Shield**

 **By DarthKirby009**

 **This work is a prequel to Silver Maiden by Necron. Please check out his story if you enjoy this fan fic for the continuation of the story. s/12758741/1/Silver-Maiden**

 **Chapter 1**

Ruby and the rest of the group were all shocked. Professor Ozpin was still alive?! And in this boy called Oscar? But how? Ruby was the first to start connecting the dots as Qrow rambled on the floor like an idiot about how he "found him."

"You're like the maidens!" Ruby exclaimed. "But... why are you like the maidens profess- I mean, Oscar?"

"Maidens?" Oscar replied, genuinely confused for a moment before looking slightly away as if listening to something or someone else, "I don't know how I'm like them, but according to Ozpin your statement is accurate. He says it's something to do with how our souls merge with another person after we die. He and I are like that because of the wizard that gave the maidens their power. He passed his powers on in the same way as the maidens do except to young men."

"Then..." Nora hesitated, "Ozpin is in your head? That's just weird."

"You have no idea," Oscar said before sighing.

"Okay, while I'm still kind of skeptical," Jaune said carefully, "let me ask you this. What was the last thing Ozpin told me to do before he died?"

Oscar paused for a moment looking down, but into some distant place that seemed to go beyond the floor, then he seemed to snap back up as if he realized something or in this case, remembered something. "He told you to bring Qrow, Glenda, and Ironwood to the tower, so they could protect it."

Everyone else in the room looked at Jaune. Jaune was stunned and after a moment moved to the couch Qrow fell off of to sit down.

"Well?" Ruby asked, "Was he right?"

"Yes, yes, he's right. That's what Ozpin told me right before he died. I don't know how he could have known otherwise what Ozpin said unless he really does have Ozpin inside of him."

"So... What now?" Ruby asked, turning to Oscar.

"I... I don't know," Oscar replied. "I still don't know a lot about what Ozpin or you guys are involved with, but I do know it's important. To be honest, until I met Qrow, I wasn't sure whether to believe anything Ozpin was telling me. I mean think about, a voice in you head, telling you to go places and do things. As it was I thought I was going crazy."

"I suppose that's understandable," Ren interjected, finally entering the conversation.

"So... you have a place to stay here in Mistral?" Nora asked.

"Um, no." Oscar replied timidly.

"Then you can stay with us!" Nora replied cheerfully. "We're kind of in the same boat as far as not knowing everything that's going on. Qrow is the one to ask really, but..." Nora looked at Qrow hiccuping and giggling on the floor, "he's not really in a position to bring you up to speed right now. Honestly though, I'm sure Qrow will have some questions for you too when he sobers up."

"Yeah, honestly, we really needed to talk to Ozpin. Now that you're here, it will be a huge help," Jaune spoke up. "I don't know what you had to go through to get here, but we're glad you're here." Jaune looked at Oscar and smiled a little reassuringly.

"But in the mean time," Ruby said before Qrow broke into a fit of giggles again, "Let's just get my uncle to bed. We'll talk more about maidens and Ozpin in the morning."

Everyone looked a little exhausted and agreed, and after lugging Qrow up to bed, they showed Oscar what room he could use to stay the night with them. Ren, Jaune, and Oscar roomed with Qrow while Ruby and Nora stayed in the other room next to them. Before they all knew it, sleep took them all and morning had come.

 **...**

When everyone finally got up the next morning, the first thing they did after breakfast was to sit Qrow and Oscar down and ask them questions. At first everyone was just sitting there waiting for someone to start. Jaune spoke up first.

"Um, how did you know?" Jaune said to Qrow.

"Know what?"

"Know that Oscar was, well, Ozpin too?"

"Oz told me awhile ago that if something ever happened to him that he would find me and tell me that 'he wanted his cane back.'" Qrow said making scare quotes with his hands, "I took that to mean that his cane was somehow important and so I took it with me when I found it in Beacon Tower during the Fall of Beacon. Always wondered though, why that phrase was important to remember until Oscar found me and said it to me. It's at that point I realized that Ozpin was like the maidens just like you figured last night, Ruby. Several things just seemed to snap into place – the last king of Vale had power that many considered legendary. If he inherited the power of the wizard that originally blessed the maidens, then it makes sense how he easily subdued the other kingdoms during the last battle of the Great War, as well as his founding of academies to safeguard the relics and, in a way, the maidens. Ozpin merely inherited his mantle just like the last king of Vale and as such was the leader of our organization to protect the maidens and the relics. I didn't exactly realize it in that order, but I was drunk at the time. What can you say?"

"Well, how about you Oscar?" Ruby asked, "What brought you here, to Mistral?"

"Ozpin told me to come here, I didn't know why. I just followed his lead."

"Ozpin must have known that I would come here after the Fall of Beacon to investigate Cinder and her crew since they claimed to come from Mistral," Qrow interjected, "but more importantly, I would like to know if you learned anything about our enemy Oz."

Everyone turned back to Oscar now who shifted slightly in his seat. "I-er _he_ says that he learned nothing new about the enemy. However, an old acquaintance of his came to Mistral as well. Ozpin called him Hazel."

Qrow's eyes flashed in recognition for a brief moment. "I see. So he's here too, eh?"

"Who's Hazel?" Nora asked.

"Like Oscar said, an old acquaintance of Oz's. Not too sure if he's a friend or an enemy, but we believe he may be working for or closely with Salem. Whether he's a friend or enemy isn't the issue as much as he's a power fighter. He's... a wild card right now. If you can, try not to fight him."

"So, what now? Just wait for Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asked.

"No," Qrow replied, "We need to recover the Spring Maiden before anyone learns about her location. I trust Leo not to tell anyone, but in Mistral, the walls have ears. We'll bring you up to speed Oscar on the way, but before we head out we need to prepare. Without Leo's help we'll have to come up with a solid plan which means recon and information gathering. And..." Qrow smiled roguishly, "some serious upgrades to your weapons. Time you guys arm yourselves like real huntsmen and huntresses."

 **...**

The Rube Goldberg machine was set up with absolute perfect precision. More beautiful still was the fact that it could be reset with only a few adjustments instead of having to painstakingly set everything back up. William Hillphire stepped back and admired his creation. The most elaborately unnecessarily complicated coffee maker. As he beamed in pride at his creation, one of his regulars walked into his forge.

"Seriously William? You're at it again making those dumb things? Why make a machine that takes twice the time to make a regular cup of joe when you can have one that makes it in half the time?"

"Because it's awesome!" Hillphire retorted. "And I thought I told you to call me Hillphire, Jerry."

"Yes, Mr. Hillphire," Jerry replied teasingly.

"Without the Mr. please."

"You know, dumb machines like that is why you don't have a girlfriend."

Just then Qrow, Oscar, and the rest of team RNJR walked into the store. Instantly Ruby's eyes locked onto the Rube Goldberg machine.

"Ooooooo! Is that what I think it is!?" Ruby squealed in delight.

Hillphire beamed at Jerry, "Well, _she_ likes it."

Jerry rolled his eyes, "Just when I thought I was making progress."

Ruby flicked the domino that was the starting mechanism for the machine. Ruby watched like the giddy nerd that she was as the machine did its thing and eventually ended with the coffee being poured into a cozy looking mug.

"I wonder if Oobleck would like this," Nora said before giggling.

"Thank you ladies! It's good to know someone appreciates my masterpiece," Hillphire said playfully glaring at Jerry in a 'I told you so' sort of way. "But that said, is there anything I can get for all of you?" he said motioning to everyone in the group.

"Yeah, these guys need some upgrades to their weapons and armor," Qrow replied.

"You look familiar," Hillphire said to Qrow, "Do I know you?"

"Nah, but I know you. Came in a few times to your shop before – liked your work."

"Good to know you're a satisfied customer!" Hillshire beamed.

Ruby found her next nerdgasm target, "Oh. My. GOSH! Is that a premium lightning channeler?! It's so cool! How did you get it so perfectly fitted into the blade!?"

Hillphire laughed, "My dear, that is only the beginning. I have a feeling you and I are going to get along famously."

"Famously?" Jaune replied as if that was the lamest word in the world.

"Old English friend! Old English! By the way..." Hillphire said pausing and motioning towards Ruby.

"Oh! Ruby! My name is Ruby," she replied offering her hand which Hillphire shook.

"Well Ruby, do you want to see some demonstrations of my weapons?"

"Ooooh! Would you!?" Ruby asked in childish glee.

"It would be my pleasure."

 **...**

Hillphire set up several targets in the shooting range that also functioned as a demo room for all the weapons. He chose the lightning sword Ruby had eyed. He gracefully swung the sword in parabolic arches and sliced a few of the targets in half then finished off the demo by swinging the sword and sending small, powerful bolts of electricity into several targets, causing all of them to explode.

"Oooo!" Ruby squealed in delight, "That was cool! Is that your favorite?"

"Well," Hillphire chuckled, "That's kind of hard to say really. I make a lot of weapons. Haven't really stuck with just one."

"Really, you seemed rather comfortable with that sword," Ren noted.

"That happens when you practice with your creations for fives hours a day. I may be a blacksmith, but knowing how my creations will be used helps me make better weapons as well as knowing what my clients want."

"Well, it shows," Qrow chimed, "So you kids just gonna watch demos or are you going to tell the young professional what upgrades you want?"

"Oh, what's the harm in some demo watching?" Nora replied.

"None, except lost time. I don't think I need to remind you that Hillphire here is also a busy man."

"Oh, nonsense!" Hillphire replied, "The demos are a big part of my business. It's hard to decide what you want your weapon to become without some inspiration. I find that demos help give my clients ideas."

"Oh! What about this one!?" Ruby exclaimed, holding up a one sided axe with what looked like a gun barrel at the end of the axe head.

"Ah! I see you have an appreciation for the simple, yet effective designs."

"Oh, stop it!" Ruby blushed at the flattery, "I'm just a dork for weapons."

"Then you're in good company," Hillphire laughed, "Speaking of which, did you design your weapon? I haven't seen anything like it."

"Oh! Yes! I made my sweet heart here myself," Ruby stated proudly, transforming her weapon into it's scythe mode.

"Oooo!" Hillphire exclaimed in delight, giddy as any man could be, "You absolutely must show me the finer parts of the design! It's a marvelous weapon!"

Ruby was reduced to a giggling mess from the flattery, blushing brightly.

"Is it just me, or is he like Ruby, except a man?" Nora stated bluntly.

"I... yeah, he kind of is," Jaune finally admitted.

Ren and the others looked over at Jaune wondering why he had hesitated, but attention quickly shifted back to Ruby and Hillphire getting along like two peas in a pod. Qrow sighed, and pulled out some lien, handing it to Ren.

"When they're done being nerds, tell Hillphire what upgrades you want and get back to me. I'll be taking Oscar for some training."

"Um... Won't I also be getting a weapon?" Oscar asked.

"You've got one," Qrow replied, "and a damn good one too – Ozpin's cane."

Oscar lit up a bit in understanding and quickly followed Qrow out of the forge. Meanwhile, Hillphire had begun another demo with the axe-shotgun hybrid this time. It was Jaune's time to sigh this time.

"Looks like they'll be at it for a while," he said plainly, and sure enough, after a few hours, Ruby and Hillphire were finally done with indulging in each other's love of weaponry. Ruby didn't have many requests, but asked for specialized ammunition. Nora was particularly interested in increasing the charge her hammer could hold and therefore, reduce the time needed to charge herself up with the upgrades she got from that blacksmith back at the beginning of their journey to Mistral. Jaune didn't know what else he could do except pick the blacksmith's mind for any modifications using dust. Ren, like Ruby, didn't really have many requests except for another dagger to match the one he had gotten from his father. Hillphire took all their requests and inquiries and jotted them down on a clipboard. When they were done, Jaune said they should join up with Qrow again. Ruby felt a little sad to leave the forge, and a fellow weapon nerd, so quickly. But her spirits were lifted a little when Hillphire said to them, "Please do visit again! It was a delight to have you," He said, particularly to Ruby.

"Likewise," Ruby said giggling.

As the gang left Hillphire watched them go, looking out fondly at the merry crew, but in particular at Ruby.

"Where have you been all my life?" he whispered to himself.

 **...**

Ruby took Hillphire up on his invitation to drop by and they took great delight in each other's company as they talked about various weapon designs and technical things involving them. The upgrades to Nora's hammer were going to take a while as they required some delicate and detailed work, so Ruby hung out with Hillphire often during the process. Jaune felt uncomfortable with Ruby spending so much time away from the team and decided to tag along a few times, but always ended up leaving early before Ruby feeling like a third wheel. One day, Hillphire decided to take a break from the upgrade work.

"Hmm... I need a little breather to stretch out. Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna spar? I feel a little stiff."

"Sure!" Ruby replied enthusiastically, hopping off the high stool she was sitting on, "Want me to go easy on you?" she teased.

"I can hold my own," Hillphire replied smirking and hopped off his high stool as well, "I may not be able to handle monsters, but I can handle people just fine."

"Oh?" Ruby said with curiosity, "why you say that?"

"I've been sparring with people since I was-"

"No, not that, I meant, why do you think you can't handle monsters? I've seen you practice. A few beowolves shouldn't be a problem for you."

Hillphire paused and looked at Ruby for a moment before sighing, "I... I was traumatized you could say. When I was young, I was at the sight of a grimm attack. Of course I was absolutely helpless then, but I never truly got over it. I even went to Haven Academy hoping to overcome my fear and become a hunter, but I failed the exam because I froze up every time I saw a grimm. Heh, it's funny really. I can beat some hunters in a sparring match, but I can't even take down a creeper. I'm rather lucky that I was in the city during the Fall of Beacon. If I was here at my shop I likely would've died."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear."

Hillphire, seeing how the mood had shifted, lifted his hand and waved it dismissively, "Don't be. I've led a decent life here as a blacksmith even if I can't fight monsters. Now! Shall we spar?" he said with a broad grin.

Ruby giggled a little, "Yes, we shall!"

 **...**

Jaune sat on the couch in one of the lounging rooms of the dorms at Haven Academy. He looked down at the ground, concern on his face, before finally saying to Ren and Nora, "Ruby has been with Hillphire a lot these past few days."

"Can you blame her?" Nora said matter-a-factly, "the guy is as much of a weapons fanatic as she is."

"Yeah, but... it just feels... off."

"Are you..." Nora said leaning forward and squinting one eye at Jaune, "jealous?"

"W-what?! No! I just... I mean, we've been through a lot together. The four of us. It just feels wrong that we aren't spending more time together after all we've been through."

Ren and Nora exchanged concerned glances then looked back towards Jaune.

"I agree we don't see her as much as we'd like," Ren said, "but it's not like she hasn't been with us in the evenings."

"I... I know. Well, I don't know. I mean, I get that she has a lot in common with him, but it just kind of hurts that something as simple as a shared hobby would make her spend more time with him, than with us, you know?"

"Yeah... I guess I can see that. If you feel that way, why don't you go with her more often to the forge?" Nora replied.

"Well... I don't know. I just... feel like I'm just there to be there, not because I want to be. Like..." Jaune clearly didn't want to say it, "well, like I'm a third wheel."

"How about we reserve a day to go somewhere as a team then?" Ren suggested, "We need to prepare anyways for the mission to capture the spring maiden and having a team meeting would be a good way to have her spend time with us for the day."

"Yeah... but that just wouldn't feel right either, you know? I mean we're her friends. Why should we have to hide the fact that we just wanna hang out?"

"Well, you could just ask," Nora replied.

"I'm sorry?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Just ask! You know, to hang out."

It was such a simple solution that Jaune had to laugh at himself.

"You're right, I guess I was just mopping for no reason. Thanks guys!"

"Noooo problem!" Nora chimed and Ren simply nodded affirmatively in agreement with her.

"Well, Mistral is bound to have some places beside the forge that Ruby should be interested in. Let's start there!" Jaune said, his voice full of purpose.

 **...**

Ruby was getting back to the house from Hillphire's forge. As she walked inside, she saw Jaune in front of her, about to walk out the door.

"Whoa!" They both cried in unison, nearly avoiding walking into each other.

"Oh! Ruby! Hey," Jaune said laughing nervously.

"Hey... Jaune?" Ruby said awkwardly, "Why are you nervous."

"Ummm, uh, I mean," he sighed, "Ruby, you've kind of been gone a lot these days so... I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with the rest of team RNJR tomorrow. Ya know, to change things up a bit. We're planning on hitting the market in Mistral's higher layers. Wanna come along?"

"Umm... sure, is that it?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, yeah. That's it."

"Okay..."

An awkward silence ensued.

"A-anyways, I'm off to check on Qrow. Oscar came back, but said Qrow went out drinking again," Jaune finally said.

"Yeah, okay. Um, see you tomorrow!" Ruby said with some awkwardness in her voice still. She watched as Jaune left and for some reason she felt off. Not because of the awkward conversation that just happened, but something underneath that. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She shook her head as if to clear her head and went inside for the night.

 **...**

The next morning Ruby and the gang, minus Oscar and Qrow, went into the upper levels of Mistral. Like during their trip to Haven, the group saw all kinds of shops and wares.

"Ooooh! There's so much cool stuff!" Ruby exclaimed. "Anything you guys wanna check out first?"

Jaune smiled, "I'm fine with anything you guys are."

"How about we check out food market!" Nora interjected, "Qrow said you can get just about anything here and I plan to put that claim to the test," Nora said with a mischievous smile.

"Nora," Ren said sternly, "Please don't get something disgusting."

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Nora replied, "with your algae crap soup."

Ren sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, okay," Ruby said chuckling, "How about we check out some of the armor and weapons they have? We can try and get some ideas for how Jaune to upgrade his sword and we can check out all the weapons!"

"I sense that the latter is your true objective," a voice came from nearby.

They all turned to see Hillphire nearby.

"Oh! Hey! Hillphire! Why don't you join us! We're going to the market!"

"So I heard. I'd be glad to join you!"

Jaune at this point looked a little conflicted, "Aren't you working on Nora's hammer today?"

"Yes, but I needed some materials. So I headed to the market and bumped into you guys."

"Oh, uh, great," Jaune tried to say as convincingly as possible, but garnered an odd look from Ruby.

The most of the day Jaune felt like he was merely along for the ride again as Hillphire and Ruby got along merrily. But half way through Ruby noticed how Jaune seemed a little distant and for some reason she felt off again, uncomfortable.

"Um, Hillphire?"

"Yes Ruby?"

"If you don't mind, the rest of us are going to go check out some other stuff now. I know Nora wanted to see the food court and I'd like to explore a little bit too. See you round?"

"Oh, sure. See you tomorrow?" Hillphire asked, half expectantly.

"We'll see. I need some time with the team."

"Ah, I see. See you later then."

Suddenly, Ruby felt right again and looked back fondly at the team, but in particular her eyes went to Jaune who smiled back just as fondly. Why did she feel that way right now? What was different? She didn't know, but the rest of the day went rather smoothly. Everyone, including Jaune felt a part of the excursion. Ruby put the thought aside though as a passing whim. Maybe she just needed some time with the team.

 **...**

"Hey Hillphire."

Hillphire turned and was surprised to find Jaune instead of Ruby.

"Oh, hey Jaune. Can I help you today?"

"Uh, yeah, you can. Do you have some time to talk?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Hillphire asked, now curious.

"Well, its about my weapon."

"What about it? Have any ideas for how you want to upgrade it now?"

"Sort of, but I also wanted to ask you something. Is it necessary to have dust powered weapons in order to be a huntsmen?"

"Hmm... that's a tough question. I mean, sure, you can fight without them, but if you want to fight some of the more sinister grimm that lurk outside in the world then you'll need dust powered weapons. I guess you could say it depends on what kind of huntsmen you want to be. Do you just want to do easy jobs to make a living or do you want to be ready for anything? That's the real question I think you should ask yourself if you want to know whether or not you need dust powered weapons."

"Well, I don't want to have to learn a new fighting style either just to match the dust that my weapons use. Is it possible to upgrade my weapon with dust in a way that wouldn't impact the way I fight with the weapon right now?"

"Sure! It might make them slightly lighter or heavier, but I think I have a few ideas on how I could do that."

"Thanks, I'll leave the details to you then," Jaune said as he turned to leave.

"Oh, uh, wait a sec," Hillphire chimed.

"Yes," Jaune said, looking back.

"You... wouldn't happen to be romantically involved with Ruby would you?"

Jaune blushed a little, "W-wha?! N-no. Not really."

"Not really?" Hillphire said curiously, "I don't mean to pry, but it just seems like, well, like you guys are close."

Jaune smiled fondly and sadly at the same time, "We lost a dear friend that was close to both of us and we've been through a lot since the Fall of Beacon."

"That's right! You guys were in the tournament weren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah we were. A lot has happened since then."

Hillphire sensing the weight behind those words decided to take the conversation in a different direction, "I see, I hope you guys have a less eventful time while here in Mistral. Speaking of which, are you guys going to hang out as a team again soon?"

"Yeah, we were planning to. Why you ask?"

"I think I might know a good spot for you guys to visit."

 **...**

The stands were packed with spectators cheering with anticipation for the hover craft race that was about to begin. The race was three laps around the surrounding mountains of Mistral before heading back to the base of the city's mountain. While no one would really say it out loud, everyone knew this event was to break up some of the tension caused by recent events. The racers were all making last second adjustments on their hovercraft as team RNJR, as well as Oscar and Qrow entered the impromptu stands that had been set up near the finish line.

"Oh! Hey! Ruby, guys! Over here!"

The crew spotted Hillphire near the bottom of the stands.

"Hillphire!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, "What are you doing here?"

"I have a stake in this event you see," he said pointing at a hovercraft with the same color scheme as his team shirt, and next to the hovercraft was a very attractive woman in the same team colors. "A beauty, isn't she?"

"Uh... the girl or the hovercraft?" Ruby asked, feeling a little off again.

Hillphire blushed a bright pink, "O-oh! The bike, the bike! Of course!"

Ruby couldn't help but giggle at Hillphire's reaction and he started laughing with her.

"So, what? Are you the sponsor or something?" Ruby asked.

"Something like that," Hillphire admitted, "I made the hovercraft you see and she's just the showcase driver. If all goes well I might be able to sell some copies of the bike."

"And your driver just so happens to be a bombshell?" Ruby teased.

"Just wait until you see her race," Hillphire replied confidently.

Hillphire joined them in the stands soon as the race was about to begin. Jaune had to admit, even with Hillphire here, he didn't feel like a third wheel so far. The whole race was interesting enough on it's own to worry about what Hillphire was doing. Wait a second, why did he care about what Hillphire was doing?

"And they're off!" the announcer boomed over the intercom.

Everyone's attention went to the craft zipping out of the starting zone and quickly shifted to the projector screens in front of them which displayed the racers as they positioned and tried to pull ahead. Hillphire's driver was doing particularly well and elegantly barrel rolled around a few drivers and did a partial aileron roll before pulling back on the controls, pulling into the first turn.

"Oh, what a nice display by Ariel as we go into the first turn!"

Ruby looked over at Hillphire, who had a 'I told you so' look on his face.

"Now we're heading into the second straightaway!"

Ariel zoomed head long into the stretch, leaning forward on her hover craft as the competition followed closely on her heels. One competitor tried to gain ground only to accidently bump into one of the fellow racers causing both to veer out of control and one crashed into one of the rear racers head on.

"Oh! There's the first crash of the day!" the announcer exclaimed.

"Oh my GOSH! Are they okay?" Ruby asked with concern.

"They're ok, probably bruised though," Hillphire said, pointing at the corner of the projector screen where they showed the racers on the ground, alive, but clearly a little beaten up.

Before Ruby could fully process the scene, the crowd roared in excitement as the first hovercraft zoomed past the starting line and low and behold it was Ariel.

"Ariel is dominating!" the announcer exclaimed enthusiastically.

The process continued again with Ariel maintaining her lead narrowly. Hillphire began to get excited and grabbed the side of Ruby's sleeve out of nervousness while having his eyes locked onto the screen.

"She's winning, she's winning, she's winning!" Hillphire kept saying with growing excitement.

Ruby couldn't help but smile but also blush as he started to invade her space a little. Fortunately for Jaune his eyes were fixated on the projector screen as well as Ariel made her final lap around the course. Going into the home stretch, Ariel started pulling away even more from the rest of the pack, pushing the craft to it's maximum speed. As she zipped by the finish line for the third time in first place. Hillphire jumped out of his seat and screamed, "YES!" Everyone around him, including Ruby jumped. Hillphire could hardly contain his excitement, but when he finally got a hold of himself a few seconds later, he blushed the brightest shade of red Ruby had ever seen on his face and he laughed nervously in embarrassment. Ruby didn't know whether it was his outburst of excitement or the previous invasion of space, but her heart was racing as much as his.

"Well, congrats Hillphire," Qrow said, "Looks like you'll be getting some more business in the future."

"Yes! Yes! Thank you very much!" Hillphire replied.

"How did those racers survive that crash?" Ren asked.

"Oh! That's simple really! Hillphire chimed, "They use gravity dust to reduce the speed at which the racers and their craft fall to the ground. They still hit the ground hard, but not nearly hard enough to kill them unless they land on their head or back in an awkward position. All the drivers know how to fall though in order to prevent that kind of injury."

"Cool!" Nora interjected.

Everyone looked at Nora like she was late to the party.

"Well?! It was!" she insisted.

Most of the crew started laughing and Nora giggled with them.

"Soooo... How did you nab that girl to be your test driver?" Ruby said teasingly, but also with a hint of curiousity.

"Oh! I didn't say? She's my cousin. Ariel Hillphire."

All of them looked at the score board and sure enough, the Hillphire name was there right behind Ariel. For some reason, Ruby felt silly now and she laughed a little embarrassed. Why was she embarrassed though, she couldn't figure out.

"I have to go congratulate her, I'll see you guys later. Oh! And Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I finished the modifications you asked for. Drop by some time tomorrow and check them out, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing."

With that Hillphire raced off to congratulate his cousin and no doubt toast to a successful business venture.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hillphire was understandably still in a good mood after the race and the fact that he had finished Jaune's upgrades so soon was icing on the cake. He was quite proud of the ideas he had come up with to meet Jaune's request. As Hillphire was nerding out over his own work, Jaune came through the door.

"Jaune! Perfect timing! It's all ready, let me go over the changes and upgrades I've made."

Jaune moved closer and sat next to Hillphire, who had Jaune's weapons and armor on the table in front of them.

"I have imbedded earth dust crystals into the sword and the shield, increasing their toughness by ten fold. Not to mention that it increases the sharpness of the blade. I also imbedded earth and gravity dust into your armor making it tougher, lighter, and with an activated ability that would anchor the wearer down to one spot, making you immovable. The more aura you have, the stronger the anchoring effect, which is perfect for someone like you who has a lot of aura and likely acts as a tank for the team. Simple, yet elegant. And to top it all off, since the dust is imbedded into the armor and weapons, you won't have to pay for more dust to replenish your weapon and armor like others do who use consumable dust."

Jaune let out an impressed laugh, "I have to say, I couldn't have thought of an idea like this if I wanted to. Thanks for thinking about cost effectiveness."

"Not a problem!"

Just then Jerry, Hillphire's friend, burst into the forge.

"William! Grimm attack!"

Both Jaune and Hillphire were shocked and Hillphire grew awfully pale, but both were jolted out of their shock by the screams of people in the distance and the sound of gunfire. Before they could get out of the building, they heard Hillphire's anti-grimm turrets, mounted on the roof of his forge, open fire.

"Get as many people to the forge as possible!" Hillphire said to Jerry, "My anti-grimm defenses will take care of most grimm types. Jaune, you and I are going to help evacuate people too. Time to test out those upgrades of yours."

Jaune nodded and dashed towards some nearby people fleeing grimm to help protect them but Jerry lingered for a moment.

"William, what about you? Are you sure you can... you know."

"I've thought of a way around fighting them, hopefully it will work until the worst is over."

Hillphire ran back into the forge and came back out with what looked like a mini-turret mounted on a metallic backpack frame that went over his shoulders and wrapped around his waist. On his head was a visor that was connected to the contraption by a cord.

"What the heck is that?" Jerry asked.

"What will help me fight," Hillphire replied, "I may freeze up when I see grimm, but when I look at a grimm with this visor, the turret on my shoulder will lock on and fire automatically. I don't have to do anything, just look."

Jerry didn't have to time to say so, but he was impressed, "Stay safe!" Jerry said as he ran off with the evacuation.

"You too!" Hillphire shot back before running into the fray himself.

Hillphire's contraption worked wonderfully at first. Entire groups of grimm were cut down before they could even get close to Hillphire. Even so, the terror of grimm rushing at him was enough to make it hard to breathe sometimes. More than once he had to pause and catch his breathe before he could rush to the next location. But his luck would not hold out. As he rounded the next corner, an alpha ursa came into view. The creature saw him instantly and charged. Though Hillphire's mini-turret was powerful, it was not powerful enough to stop the beast before it reached him. Hillphire barely ducked in time as the ursa swung it's huge paw at him, catching the mini-turret and ripping Hillphire's entire contraption clean off his shoulders. Hillphire utterly panicked. He frantically crawled as fast as he could off the ground and ran away, but the beast was on his heels. Just as he thought the beast had him, Hillphire heard a loud clanking sound as the ursa's paw came into contact with something metal. Hillphire dared to look and saw Jaune, shield in hand, blocking the ursa's paw. Hillphire saw Jaune's uncertainty as he fought the massive grimm, narrowly avoiding several powerful swipes from the ursa's claws.

"Come on Jaune, done this before," Hillphire heard Jaune say to himself.

"G-go for the neck! Knock aside it's slow paws and strike when it's off balance.

Jaune nodded in acknowledgment of Hillphire's advice before he let out a loud war cry and swung his sword at the ursa's torso, making it back away. Then Jaune quickly followed up with a back swing at the ursa's neck, cutting it's head off in one swift swing. The beast disintegrated.

"Lets go!" Jaune said, snapping Hillphire out of his shock completely.

"Y-yes, lets get back to the forge!"

Fortunately, they came across no more grimm after that as huntsmen and huntresses from Mistral arrived and engaged the grimm at the outskirts of the mountain's base. The rest of team RNJR and company had arrived as well. It had been a small attack, but a few people had died. The forge's defenses had saved a lot of people and several people thanked Hillphire for the refuge. After it was confirmed that the grimm had been eliminated, people started to leave the safety of the forge and go back to their daily lives. Team RNJR was there as the last of the them were leaving. Jaune and Hillphire sat next to each other resting while the others left one by one. Ruby was the last to leave the two alone in the forge, but for some reason, felt like staying outside the door of the forge for a bit. She was reminded of the Fall of Beacon all over again. As she was lost in thought, Hillphire's voice brought her back to reality.

"How do you do it?" she heard Hillphire say to Jaune, "How can you fight when you're afraid? I saw your face as you fought that alpha ursa. You were just as scared as me, but you were able to fight through it."

Ruby heard only silence for awhile before hearing Jaune reply, "It's more terrifying to lose someone than to get hurt."

For some reason, tears came to Ruby's eyes and her breast swelled with pride. She was very proud of Jaune and happy. She couldn't explain it. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and decided that she shouldn't eavesdrop, following the rest of the team back to the safe house.

 **...**

Ruby was at the ledge that they Qrow had brought them to when they first arrived in Mistral, the one that led to Haven Academy. She was leaning on the railing overlooking the city, taking in all the sights and sounds. She was in a contemplative mood. Lately she had been feeling a lot of things that confused her. She was trying to sort her thoughts, or rather her feelings. It didn't help that she was doing more staring into space than thinking though. Part of her... felt afraid to actually think about what she was feeling, to put it into words. She felt that she would ruin whatever it was if she tried to analyze it. As she was letting these feelings grow inside of her, she was startled.

"Hey Ruby."

"Wha!" Ruby jumped a little, "Oh! Jaune! Haha... How long have you been standing there?" she asked as her heart was now pounding like crazy from the surprise as she felt like she had been caught red handed.

"Just got here, are you checking out the city?"

"Yeah... I don't know. I've just been having a lot of things going on lately and was trying to sort them out."

"Like what?"

"Well..." this is what she didn't want, to put these feelings into words, but she realized she had to at some point, "I don't know, I mean lately I've just been feeling kind of happy, but I don't really know..." Ruby paused, a realization coming to her.

"Uh... Ruby?" Jaune asked, moving a little closer to her face.

At that moment Ruby turned beet red and jumped back a little before exclaiming, "I-I-I gotta go! Bye!" dashing off before Jaune could reply. Poor Jaune was left confused with only the knowledge that Ruby had been happy, but why? Ruby on the other hand was even more excited or frightened then ever. She... liked them. Not just Hillphire, but also Jaune. For a while all she could do was pace back and forth and occasionally laugh nervously as she wasn't really able to think about anything but the realization. Finally though her hyperactiveness wore off enough for her to think. She like them, yes, but for some reason she felt differently about them. When she thought of Hillphire she felt shy and playful, but when she thought of Jaune she felt... close, like the two of them understood each other even if they didn't always know what the other was thinking. She had a new realization now. She liked Hillphire, but she deeply cared about Jaune. She didn't dare go so far as to think she loved him, not yet at least, but she felt much more strongly for Jaune. Her interest in Jaune wasn't something surface level, it was something she cherished. She sunk to her knees and put both hands on her chest. From an observer it might look as if she was praying except for the fact that her eyes were open and she was once again as red as a beet.

"Uh... Ruby?" Nora asked in a concerned tone.

"Ah!" Ruby squeaked as she leaped back to her feet, surprising Nora too.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked.

"Um, uh, I, I mean, he, um, uh..." Ruby tried frantically to come up with some excuse before being completely embarrassed by how out of sorts she was and finally just bowed her head and blushed like crazy.

"Are... you alright?" Nora asked again, with concern.

This time Ruby managed a more composed answer, "Y-yeah, hehe... I'm fine."

"Mind explaining what just happened? Cause even though I'm a girl too, I'm REALLY confused."

Ruby could only laugh nervously for a moment before finally replying, "I... Just kind of realized something."

"And what is that?"

"I... I realized that I like someone," Ruby finally forced herself to say out loud, a little hesitation in her voice.

"Oooo!" Nora squealed, "Who is it?! Do I know who he iiiiiis?" Nora asked like someone into juicy gossip.

"Hehe, well... I like more than one person."

Nora stopped for a moment to process this new fact before replying, "Arrre you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, I, I don't know! It just kind of happened! I didn't even really know what was happening till just a few minutes ago."

"So, are you, like, in a tie or do you like one better than the other?"

Ruby went beet red again, "Um... I mean, I do really like one more..."

"But?" Nora asked.

"But I just realized my feelings. You saw me I'm still a wreck. I haven't had time to think about things completely yet."

"Well, how about you start by telling me who the lucky guys are?" Nora said half teasingly and half seriously, "talking about things really helped me and well... me and Ren figure some things out."

Ruby gave Nora a strange look, "Since when were shy about talking about Ren or talking to him?"

Nora blushed a little before saying, "Well, we're sort of 'together, together' now..."

Ruby froze for a moment as the meaning of Nora's words hit her. "OH MY GOSH! When did this happen!" Ruby exclaimed, suddenly turning the tables on her friend.

Nora abashedly replied, "Shortly after we beat the horse monster thingy."

"I guess we're even now," Ruby said before giggling and Nora giggled with her. Needless to say the two of them spent the rest of the day together talking about their romantic lives.

 **...**

When Ruby got up the next morning she felt... relieved. Like she something which had been building up inside of her had finally been let out, but on some level was still welling up inside of her. It was an amazing feeling – both exciting and terrifying at the same time the more she dwelled on it. She didn't make the same mistake as yesterday though. This time she actively thought about her feelings and why she felt them.

In the end, she came to the same conclusion as she did yesterday – she liked Hillphire, but only on a surface level still. She deeply cared about Jaune though. She... wanted to see Jaune happy, to see him rebuild what they both had lost, and... and to be there, supporting each other. She couldn't say the same about Hillphire, at least, not with how long she had known him. Nora and her had talked a lot about her feelings and what she should do, but they had agreed on one thing – there was no need to rush things. She didn't have to confess, she didn't have to choose, not yet at least. They decided it was best for now just to simply let things play out for now.

Ruby smiled. Even so, she knew what she wanted to do today. After all, she had been spending so much of her time lately with Hillphire. Now... She wanted to spend some time with Jaune. She went over to the living room of the safe house and there she found most of the gang waiting for Ren to make breakfast.

"Hey sleepyhead!" Nora exclaimed, "Ready for a new day?"

Ruby smiled, "Yeah, I think I am."

"Feeling better?" Jaune asked still sort of confused from yesterday.

"Oh! Uh... hehe, Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about yesterday. Oh! Do you wanna go check some things out in the city today?"

"Sure! Uh, what do you wanna check out?"

"Oh... You know... stuff," Ruby said before laughing a little nervously with her hands behind her back.

"Wanna join us then?" Ren asked, "Nora and I were planning on going out today too."

"Oh! But we were planningggg on checking some 'other' stuff out today, right Ren?" Nora said before glancing quickly at Ruby and smiling. Ruby smiled back appreciatively.

"Okay..." Jaune and Ren said in unison.

"Then it's decided!" Nora exclaimed, "We'll meet back here at the end of the day after training!"

Throughout the rest of the day Ruby and Jaune had a lot of fun just hanging out with each other. At the end of the day Ruby, while she still agreed that she shouldn't rush things, realized that if there was one thing she could be sure of, it was that she knew that when she was with Jaune, she was at home.

 **If you enjoyed this fan fic, please check out my other work on Wattpad by entering the title of my fan fic there. Also, check out the sequel to this story called the Silver Maiden made by my friend, Necron. s/12758741/1/Silver-Maiden**


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